This report is written for the purpose of discussing some proposals on up-to-date foreign-student issues prior to the grant-in-aid research for Hokkaido titled "Foreign students studying at their own expense in universities and colleges in Hokkaido (北海道における外国人私費留学生)". The first half of this paper will give an overview of "Gaikokujin shihi-ryugakusei" in Japan in relation to the goverment program "Ryugakusei 10 man-nin keikaku (a plan for increasing the number of foreign students to 100,000 by the 21st century)". It will give the reader some ideas of who the "foreign students" are, how they are studying at universities and colleges and what problems are involved. When we compare foreign students living in Hokkaido with those in Tokyo and western parts of Japan, we find some distinctive features in Hokkaido: the ratio of the goverment-sponsored students (Kokuhi-ryugakusei) is nearly the same as those paying their own expenses (Shihi-ryugakusei). In areas such as Tokyo and Osaka, most foreign students are "Shihi-ryugakusei". There are only 725 students in total in Hokkaido and that is only one-seventh (1/7) of those in the Tokyo area. Why arethere fewer foreign students in Hokkaido? The authors discuss the reasons for this. In short, a discussion among members of the university community to find better solutions to attract foreign students to Hokkaido will be needed. The life of the foreign students studying at universities inHokkaido will be introdeced in the next chapter: how they live in a different society, what problems they have and what support they can get will be described. In fact, some support projects are organized by local public organizations. At the same time, tuition-fee reduction and scholarships are provided by the Association of International Education. These support projects help Shihi-ryugakusei to a great extent; however, the funding does not seem sufficient for the increasing number of students. Recently, thoughout Japan, more institutions have their own scholarships and support projects for assisting Shihi-ryugakusei and in Hokkaido, too, some have various support projects. Hokkaido University, Muroran Institute of Technology and Sapporo Universityare examples of such institutions. Lastly what foreign students actually tell their teachers will be briefly reported.